DIY City Rubbings and Resists 🌆
The city is your playground and inspiration!
This project is for those that love to explore and create outside. With minimal materials, this craft is great for those traveling or wanting a quick and easy project to spark their curiosity wherever you are.
This project explores the idea of texture. From leaf prints to brick patterns to playground fencing, these are all great examples of texture in our city surroundings. Encourage your artist to grab a sheet of paper, a crayon, and start rubbing! Look at how the texture magically transfers to the paper.
Appropriate for ages 4+ or can be adapted for the littlest artists. Holding the paper REALLY still while rubbing makes all the difference, your little artist(s) may need support here.
We’ve included all the steps and materials you’ll need below. Follow along to try it out at home.
Materials:
Unwrapped crayons
Mixed media or Watercolor paper
Cup of water (we like spill-proof cups)
Let’s get started!
Steps
1. Gather your crayons and paper and go for a walk outside. Explain that a texture is the way something feels or looks.
2. Challenge your artists to collect textures by placing a piece of paper on top of a textured surface, then rubbing a horizontal crayon across the paper, pressing just enough to reveal the texture beneath.
3. Encourage your artists to fill each paper with textures before moving on to the next paper.
4. When you are all done with your walk, get your watercolors out and and paint across the top of your crayon drawing. Notice how the crayon resists the watercolor.
5. Encourage artists to experiment with how they combine colors to create a beautiful and dynamic artwork!
6. When you are all done, set your paintings aside to dry. Later you can hang them up as is, or cut up your artworks to use in a collage!
